Tags: Today Show, best toys, High Tech, tablets, activity watches, family games

Posted: 2014-12-09 11:36:27
By: by Stephanie and Joanne Oppenheim

We finish off the TODAY Show/toyportfolio.com 2014 Toy Review with a look at Hot Tech Toys for Kids and Family Games. We had over 215 children (incuding seven sets of twins) from 24 states including Hawaii and Alaska participate with their families to review the top new toys for 2014. Many of the toys have been heavily hyped. We wanted to know how those toys stacked up with our reviewers. Click here to see the results.

School aged kids enjoy trying new crafts if the how-to directions are clear and come with the materials they need. With the holiday vacation days on the horizon, these are activity books that will keep kids engaged and using their reading comprehension skills along with their creativity. These are mostly for the 8-12 age group, kids who like making end-products they can display or use with pride. Here are a few 2014 books that do exactly that.

On day four of our TODAY Show/toyportfolio.com 2014 Toy Review we're looking at toys for tweens (9-12). We had over 215 children (incuding seven sets of twins) from 24 states including Hawaii and Alaska participate with their families to review the top new toys for 2014. Many of the toys have been heavily hyped. We wanted to know how those toys stacked up with our reviewers.

Tags: Today Show, Best Toys for Babies, Best Toys for Toddlers, Best Toys for Preschoolers

Posted: 2014-12-02 09:02:58
By: by Stephanie and Joanne Oppenheim

This week we kick off the TODAY Show/toyportfolio.com 2014 Toy Review. We had over 215 children (incuding seven sets of twins) from 24 states including Hawaii and Alaska participate with their families to review the top new toys for 2014. Many of the toys have been heavily hyped. We wanted to know how those toys stacked up with our reviewers. Each day this week we will reveal the results.

As always we just received some products that were too late to make our original award announcements. Happily, they are not too late for shoppers to find. We add new products throughout the year and here are three notable products we think you will want to consider.

School's back in full swing and you may be tempted to grab some flash cards...but wait, don't do it. We have much more playful ways to engage your kids in skills they need for school. Read the article here. Watch Stephanie's segment from the TODAY Show with Matt Lauer here:

Here at toyporfolio.com we are always hunting for toys that will be of interest and value to kids with special needs. Finding toys for kids with special needs is not that different from choosing toys for all kids. Good toys match children's developmental skills, their interests, and most of all are really appealing.

Well-meaning gift-givers often look for toys that are "good for" children. Of course, you want toys that have value, but a "good" toys should not be like medicine. They can help kids learn new skills without turning play into lessons that feel more like drill than fun.

This is the short list; you can find many more by going to SEARCH option at the top of the home page and enter the year 2014 in the right box; then scroll down to SNAP and check the yes box. These are mainstream toys that you can adapt or use straight out of the box. You'll find the reason these were chosen as well as playful ideas for adapting or using them. Here is a sampling of some of our favorites.

Choosing books for beginning readers is all about finding books they can read with ease. If they have to sound out or wait for help with every other word, save that book for later. Select books that build confidence and allow kids to develop fluidity and their desire to read. Here are three new titles that do exactly that.